McCaw ‘up for cricket challenge’
Richie McCaw will reunite with his former All Black and Crusader team-mates Kieran Read and Israel Dagg, but it will be in cricket rather than rugby.
Two-time World Cup winning skipper McCaw, the most capped All Black with 148 caps, has been confirmed for the Black Clash Twenty20 match at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval on January 25.
The 37-year-old is the latest addition to Team Rugby, who are being mentored by his former All Blacks coach Graham Henry. He is the sixth name Henry has signed up for the clash against Team Cricket with Black Ferns and Canterbury halfback Kendra Cocksedge also secured.
Not to be undone, Team Cricket have followed up with former Black Caps and Canterbury allrounders Nathan Astle and Chris Harris.
‘‘I’m always up for a challenge and this certainly is a big one,’’ McCaw said. ‘‘It’s a fantastic event for Christchurch and a chance to catch up with some old mates in the process, so I’m chuffed to be a part of it.’’
While rugby was always No 1 for McCaw in his youth, he had one season for the Otago Boys’ High First XI cricket team in his last year at school in 1998 and was a left-arm seamer and handy batsman.
He has featured in T20 charity matches for the Crusaders during his rugby playing days and umpired the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake Fundraiser T20 match at Wellington’s Basin Reserve.
Last October, McCaw, who retired after leading the All Blacks to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, lined up against Otago Boys’ for the Willows Cricket Club in an invitational game at their Loburn ground in North Canterbury. He scored 10 runs and took 2-41 from 10 overs with the ball.
‘‘I don’t need to tell Kiwis what qualities Richie McCaw will bring to our team,’’ Henry said. ‘‘The guy is an out and out winner. Kendra [Cocksedge] has a pretty darn good record on that front too.’’
Taranaki-raised Cocksedge played first-class cricket for the Central Hinds from 2004-2007 and was selected for the New Zealand A team in 2007-08, before switching her focus fully to rugby.
‘‘It’s pretty cool to be able to have the opportunity to play in the match,’’ Cocksedge said.
‘‘I haven’t picked up a bat or a ball for a very long time other than the backyard. But I do sit back and wonder where I’d be now if I had gone for cricket."
A medium-pace bowler and pinch-hitting opening batter, Cocksedge’s recent cricket has mostly been played in an annual Easter match alongside distant relations, the Barrett brothers, in the south Taranaki township of Auroa.
Team Cricket player-coach Stephen Fleming welcomed McCaw and Cocksedge’s addition to the opposition.
‘‘It’s pretty clear Sir Graham’s strategy is to pack his side with proven winners. That’s a very smart thing to do. They’ve also got no shortage of leadership ability in that squad. I guess the big unknown is how well a few of them can actually play cricket.’’